If you’re a boss in the greater Knoxville area, how does your company measure up?

If you’re an employee in this eight-county region, what do you think of your employer?

Energage and the News Sentinel can answer both questions.

For the second year Energage — formerly Workplace Dynamics — will survey workers in Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Roane, Sevier and Union counties. The 24-question survey is free, and any organization with 35 or more employees can participate, whether it’s public or private, for-profit or nonprofit, business or government.

“There is no limit to how many companies can participate, and all companies that meet or exceed our benchmarks based on employee feedback will be honored as Top Workplaces,” said Bob Helbig, media partnerships director for Energage, in an email.

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Bob Helbig, of Workplace Dynamics, speaks on how the survey was conducted during the 2017 Top Workplaces presented by the Knoxville News Sentinel at The Foundry on the Fair Site in Knoxville, Tennessee on Tuesday, June 20, 2017.(Photo: Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel)

Nominations are open now at knoxnews.com/twnominate or 865-407-5068. The initial application deadline is Feb. 23, and “simple, scientifically sound and anonymous” surveys will be conducted through mid-April.

“We reach out to all companies interested in participating in the program and set up the survey, then walk them through the process,” Helbig said. “We also follow up on leads that the News Sentinel helps generate through promotions.”

In June, the News Sentinel will publish the winners in a special issue, for which there will also be an awards ceremony.

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Dave Miller, at front, East Region president at First Tennessee, and Pam Fansler, chairman of the East Tennessee Region at First Tennessee, stand with First Tennessee employees in Knoxville on May 25, 2017. First Tennessee was rated the top workplace among large companies in the Top Workplaces 2017 survey.(Photo: Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel)

Last year, First Tennessee was named Knoxville’s Top Workplace among large firms; i.e., those employing more than 500. The bank also won a special award for excellent management.

Those honors added to First Tennessee’s prestige, and the bank got a surge of local job applicants, according to Dave Miller, the bank’s East Tennessee Region president.

“The response to our two awards, including the No. 1 large employer, has been amazing,” Miller said last year. “We shared the news extensively on social media, receiving hundreds of ‘likes’ and thousands of views. We also featured the awards in a recent video for our clients.”

Winning firms often use the Top Workplaces logo on company materials, using the awards to draw better-quality applicants and new clients; while managers can use the survey results and employee comments to improve internal processes.

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Cover of Knoxville Top Workplaces print section(Photo: News Sentinel)

Last year, Kramer Rayson law firm was recognized as the area’s best small employer, while Pinnacle Financial Partners was the best mid-sized workplace.

Pennsylvania-based Energage, founded in 2006, conducts Top Workplaces surveys in more than 40 major U.S. cities, and surveyed 2.5 million employees at more than 6,000 organizations last year.

Memphis and Nashville have been on that list for several years, but 2017 was the first year Knoxville-area businesses could participate. Energage invited 767 firms in an eight-county region to take the survey. Forty-two agreed, covering 10,422 employees. Back came 7,131 responses, and 30 of those companies scored high enough to be recognized as Top Workplaces. Local reaction was positive, and Energage hopes many more employers will join in this time. Helbig said several new companies asked to participate soon after last year’s results came out.

“The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest,” Energage CEO Doug Claffey said in a news release. “People often mistakenly assume it’s all about fancy perks and benefits. To be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet high standards for organizational health. Having a good workplace is essential for hiring, retaining and motivating talent.”